It looks like they have charged some folks with crimes, fraud, etc. for cheating on the SAT. Has this happened before? It just seems strange to me that cheating on a private sector test is actually illegal. If it had some kind of government connection, national security etc. that might make sense, but the SAT? The SAT organization doesn’t even report cheaters when they catch them, and it even allows them to retake the test no questions asked apparently.
According to the article you linked …
He used a fake driver’s license to gain entry to the testing area. That’s the crime.
Yeah, but it was “just” a private-sector scholastic test being administered. Are the crimes he is being charged with essentially for possessing a fake driver’s license? If he had tried to use a fake ID to enter a military base I can see it, but to get into a SAT?
Numerous times. Every few years you hear about some kids that get caught and arrested and their college futures ruined.
Getting caught is one thing, but arrested? Have a cite? Only example of that that I can google up is the incident I linked.
I liked this line:
The joy of being a journalist is that you don’t have to say what everyone else is already thinking.
And Al Capone went to prison for tax evasion and not murder. You get’em with the evidence you have.
Meh, both of those are obvious crimes. It’s just that cheating on the SAT test doesn’t seem like a crime to me for some reason, at least not one that the cops would cuff you and do a national perp walk for.
They were not arrested for cheating on the SAT, they were arrested for the crimes listed in post #2.
The kids who paid him are getting off with a slap on the wrist. He faces jail time.This guy simply took a test under false pretenses, they were accepted into colleges based on false pretenses, and prevented people with true pretenses from getting in. Why is he the major target of this prosecution?
But that is the point, cheating on the SAT somehow morphed into getting arrested for those crimes, and I just can’t reconcile it. Plus, I can’t google anyone ever being prosecuted like this for cheating on a relatively, unimportant test. One that does not have national security tied to it somehow.
There is no morph. He was caught using a fake driver’s license. The article does not state what the other students were charged with in the incident, although I can see conspiracy as a possibility.
The crimes stem from the fact that, at its heart, this is an attempt to commit fraud against colleges to which the scores are submitted. This probably would include scholarships, and a full ride at a private school is worth upwards of $200,000.
What makes it an interesting story on a national scale is that the students din’t cheat with crib sheets, stolen answer keys, or the other garden variety techniques. They actually got a shill who repeatedly earned astronomical scores.
I think the idea is that using a fake ID for any reason at all is a crime. Private businesses, in particular banks and bars, need ID’s for various purposes all the time. Having the law like this (although I don’t have a cite) protects everyone who relies on them.
First, I don’t think we can assume it was a driver’s license, and not a school ID. Either way, the question should be, is presenting a false driver’s license to a non-governmental entity a crime if there is no laws are broken and no money exchanges hands?
I doubt these charges will stick if the person decides to fight it. I also doubt the people he took the test for will testify against him. Especially since they will likely have to explain how they got $2500 to pay him (probably the parents). Furthermore, ETS has already stated they have no direct proof of cheating. I would bet the kids who paid him probably won’t even have their scores canceled given the wealth of the accused, and the reluctance businesses have towards getting involved in litigation.
Sure we can. The story says explicitly that he used fake licenses.
In New York, yes.
The criminal impersonation charge applies if you use a fake ID to obtain a benefit. That’s one of the charges against the guy in this case. A lesser charge could be false presentation.
Making a fake ID would be considered forgery in the 2nd degree, which is a felony. Simply having a fake ID is criminal possession of a forged instrument, which could be either a felony or a misdemeanor depending on what you do with it.
Ok, and what about paying someone to do those things? Is that a crime too?
Also, what was his benefit? He had to pay to take a test he couldn’t use. Or would the benefit be the proceeds of the conspiracy formed with a bunch of rich brats who aren’t doing perp walks, and probably won’t end up with a conviction on their record?
Yes paying someone to commit a crime is a crime.
If the only crime committed was the fake ID I suppose the person paying the guy with the fake ID could argue they did not expect him to create or obtain a criminally illegal document to perpetrate fraud.
The Fraud charge is still pretty valid just because they were unsuccessful in fraudulently gaining college admissions doesn’t mean they weren’t attempting that crime.
My defense sir is I paid that man to get me a high SAT score for the lulz, I didn’t know he was going to use a fake license.
Can the consideration he received for taking these tests be construed as obtaining a benefit? I don’t see what he stands to gain from the tests, other than some money, whereas those he takes the test for stand to gain a great deal. Or does it not matter that he is not the one obtaining the benefit? Argh, vaguely written laws my make my head hurt